Happy Holidays!

It is that time of year again, and I know that I feel very blessed to be able to work with all of your children.  We have had an excellent school year so far, and I feel it will just get better.  I hope you all enjoy spending time with your family and friends over the holidays.


A Look Ahead:
Spelling- We will begin Lesson 14 when we come back from break.

Social Studies- We will read Chapter 7, Lesson 3 on the French and Indian War.

Reading- We will be studying figurative language.

Language Arts- Students will continue their unit on verbs.

Science- We will begin Chapter 14 on "The Properties of Matter."

Mastny's Math- We will begin our geometry unit.

5th Grade Bowling Field Trip

The fifth graders will be going on their bowling field trip this coming up Wednesday, December 19th.  Students will leave for Brunswick Lanes at 9:00 and will get back around 11:00.  On that day students will need to bring a sack lunch and they will need to know their shoe size.  They are also allowed to bring money to the bowling alley if they would like to purchase snacks.  We look forward to having a good time.

A Look at Next Week:
Spelling- We will have no spelling next week. Happy Holidays!

Social Studies- We will read lesson 2 and take a quiz over lessons 1-2 on Thursday.

Reading- Students will continue to read and discuss Jacob's Rescue in their literature groups.

Language Arts- Students will finish their posters on their World War II topic, and will present their projects on Friday.

Science- We will review concepts from chapter six, including the food web and community.

Mastny's Math- We will be working on our problem solving skills.


Important Days:
Tuesday- Band and Choir Concert at 8:05AM
Wednesday- Bowling Field Trip
Friday- Tivoli Field Trip

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Peek at Next Week

A Look at Next Week:
Spelling- We will be working on lesson 13, with a test on Friday.

Social Studies- We will begin reading chapter seven.

Reading-  Students will continue to read and discuss Jacob's Rescue in their literature groups.  Students will have a vocabulary quiz over chapters 1-8 on Thursday.

Language Arts- Students will be researching a World War II topic, based on the time period in our novel.

Science- We will take a test on Chapter Six: "Ecosystems" on Wednesday.

Mastny's Math-  We will be learning about area and volume and will be taking a Chapter 24 test on Thursday.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Too Good For Drugs (TGFD)

This week the fifth grade "Too Good For Drugs" program will begin. Deputy Seward from the DuPage County Sheriff's Department will be coming to our class on Thursdays to discuss various topics of drug prevention. A letter explaining more about the program will be sent home after our first session.

A Look at Next Week:
Spelling- We will be working on lesson 12, with a test on Friday.

Social Studies- We will review chapter six and have a test on Thursday.

Reading-  Students will begin reading and discussing Jacob's Rescue in their literature groups.

Language Arts- Students will be taking their noun test on Tuesday.

Science- We will finish reading chapter six on "Ecosystems."

Mastny's Math-  We will be learning about area and volume and will be taking a Chapter 24 test on Thursday.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Look at Next Week:
Spelling- We will be working on lesson 11 next week, with a test on Friday.

Social Studies- We will finish reading chapter six and the Trade Fair will be on Thursday.

Reading-  Students will begin previewing and reading Jacob's Rescue, our first class novel-study.

Language Arts- Students will continue to study nouns.

Science- We will read chapter six, lesson two "How do Ecosystems Change Over Time?."

Mastny's Math-  We will review mean, medium, mode, and range on Monday.  On Tuesday we will take a quiz on chapter six.  Then we will begin to learn about perimeter.

Have a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Biography Shape Grader

Biography Shape Grader

Biography Shape Booklet

2nd Quarter Book Project

Please scroll down and see the second page!

Biography Shape Booklet

Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement
I thought it might be nice to present Mr. Blocker with a token of appreciation on his last session on Junior Achievement.  Junior Achievement representatives visit schools on a purely voluntary basis, and Mr. Blocker really goes beyond what is expected in regards to preparing lessons and materials.  If you would like to contribute to a classroom gift, please send in $1 by Tuesday, November 20th.

A Look at Next Week:
Spelling- We will have no Spelling this week.

Social Studies- We will continue to read chapter six, lesson 2, on colonial life.

Reading-  We will continue to talk about character traits, and do some pre-reading activities for our novel unit.

Language Arts- Students will continue to study nouns.

Science- We will be continue to take notes on chapter six, "Ecosystems and Change."

Mastny's Math-  We will continue to study mean, medium, and mode.

*No School Wednesday-Friday  

Have a fantastic weekend!

Winter Wear Drive

This fall we are collecting winter wear to assist those in need during the winter season.  We are collecting winter coats that may be gently used or new.  Students may also donate new gloves, mittens, hats, and scarves.  We will be collecting donations from Tuesday, November 13th through Monday, November 19th. All donations will be distributed following Thanksgiving to many CPS and Harvey schools.

A Look at Next Week:
Spelling- We will be working on lesson 10 this week, with a test on Friday.

Social Studies- We will continue to read chapter six and will be learning about colonial life.

Reading-  Students will focus on summarizing stories and pulling out the main ideas.

Language Arts- Students will continue to study nouns.

Science- We will be begin chapter six on "Ecosystems and Change."

Mastny's Math-  We will continue to study chapter six this week.  Students will have a quest on lessons 6.1-6.3 on Wednesday.  Then students will begin learning about mean, medium, and mode.

*No School on Monday- Veterans' Day  

Have a fantastic weekend!

Election Day!

Due to our long four day weekend, I will not see students until Wednesday.  At that time, we will know which candidate has won the election.  After so much discussion in class and at home I'm sure most of us will be relieved when the elections are over, however I feel there will be quite the anticipation to see which candidate comes out on top.  Tuesday there will be no classes in session due to the schools being a polling place.  The teachers will be present for an institute day, and we look forward to seeing everyone's faces throughout the day as you come in to vote.

A Look at Next Week:
Spelling- We are not having Spelling this week since it is a three-day week.

Social Studies- We will begin reading chapter six and will be learning about colonial life.

Reading-  Students will continue to focus on drawing conclusions from short stories.

Language Arts- Students will begin studying nouns.

Science- We will be dissecting owl pellets.

Mastny's Math-  We will begin chapter six this week.  Students will be learning about adding and subtracting decimals.

*No School on Monday and Tuesday  

Have a fantastic weekend!

Halloween and Conferences

Parent/Teacher Conferences are being held after school on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday of next week.  Students are always welcome to come to conferences, so that they may partake in the discussion about their learning.

Halloween is on Wednesday and students may bring their costumes. The costume might need to be simplified for school purposes since students need to be able to change in a short amount of time. Changing will take place in the classrooms. The fifth grade will have designated classrooms for boys and girls to change into their costumes. Washrooms will not be available for costume changing. Please remember no weapons, even fake, are allowed at school.  Students will then be in the Halloween parade and celebrate the holiday in classroom parties.


A Look at Next Week:
Spelling- We are moving onto lesson nine, with a test on Friday.

Social Studies- We will be reviewing chapter five and will be taking the test on Friday.

Reading-  Students will continue to focus on drawing conclusions from short stories.

Language Arts- Students will review paragraph writing.  We will eventually write a persuasive paragraph about the up-coming elections.

Science- We will be preparing for our owl dissection.

Mastny's Math-  We are now in chapter five, and learning about decimals.  We will hopefully have a chapter five Quest on Thursday.

*Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday- Parent Teacher Conferences

Have a great weekend!

A Peek at Next Week

A Look at Next Week:
Spelling- We are moving onto lesson eight, with a test on Friday.

Social Studies- We will finish chapter five and will be taking a test the week of October 29th.

Reading-  Students will be focusing on drawing conclusions from short stories.  The first short story they will read is "A Boy Called Slow."

Language Arts- Students will finish our chapter on punctuation.  We will begin reviewing for their test which will be on Friday, October 26th.

Science- I moved the chapter five science test to Tuesday, October 23rd.

Mastny's Math-  We will finish chapter three on division. There will be a chapter three test on Wednesday, October 24th.  

*Thursday- Early Dismissal

Have a great weekend!

Junior Achievement Program

Our class will be starting Junior Achievement on Monday, October 15th.  Our Junior Achievement volunteer, Mr. Blocker, will be visiting our classroom over the next several weeks to present lessons about creating and running a business.  The sessions will teach students different concepts such as supply and demand, use of resources, cost of business, and profit.  This program shows students real-world applications of several Social Studies' concepts.



A Look at Next Week:
Spelling- We are moving onto lesson seven, with a test on Friday.

Social Studies- We will be learning about the 13 colonies.  We will finish chapter five and will be taking a test the week of October 22nd.

Reading-  Students will continue to ask more thought-provoking or "thick" questions while they read "Volcanoes."  All students will be presenting their Memory Bag Project on Tuesday, October 16th.

Language Arts- Students will finish our chapter on punctuation.  We will begin reviewing for their test which will be given the week of October 22nd.

Science- We will finish chapter five and will be taking a test on Friday, October 19th.

Mastny's Math-  We will continue chapter three on division. There will be a lesson 3.1-3.5 quiz on Tuesday, October 16th.  We hope to finish chapter three next week.

Have a great weekend!

Classroom Libraries

The fifth grade teachers would like help in organizing their classroom libraries in a different way. We would like to label each book with its Lexile score so that students can make better choices for independent reading. Selecting books at appropriate Lexile levels will help students increase fluency and comprehension while reading books that are of high-interest to them. Please contact me if you are interested.

A Look at Next Week:
Spelling- We are moving onto lesson six, with a test still on Friday.
Social Studies- We will be learning about the 13 colonies.
Reading-  We will continue our non-fiction unit with a story on volcanoes.  Students will continue to ask more thought-provoking or "thick" questions while they read.  All students should be finishing their books for their Memory Bag Project, that is due October 16th.
Language Arts- We will continue our chapter on punctuation.  We will go over conjunctions, abbreviations, title punctuation, and uses for commas.
Science- We will continue to read chapter five.  Students continue to take notes and read about food-webs and ecosystems.
Mastny's Math-  We will continue chapter three on division.We plan on doing lessons 3.3-3.5.

*Monday- Columbus Day- No School!
*Wednesday- Movie Night permission slips are due.
*Thursday- Movie Night

Have a great weekend!

Book Project Worksheet

Memory Bag Worksheet(r)

First Quarter Book Project Rubric

Memory Bag Rubric

First Quarter

I just wanted to remind parents that we have four quarters this year, instead of three trimesters.  We are already half-way through the first quarter.  We have less grades because there are shorter marking periods, and that means there may be less time to raise grades at the end.  The first quarter ends on October 26th.


A Look at Next Week:
Spelling- We are moving onto lesson five, with a test still on Friday.
Social Studies- We are beginning chapter five.  We will be learning about how England colonized the Americas.
Reading-  We are beginning a non-fiction unit with the theme "Fury of a Storm."  Students will be learning to  ask more thought-provoking or "thick" questions while they read.  Last week students were assigned their book project for this quarter, which is a Memory Bag Project on a realistic fiction.  The book project is due October 16th.
Language Arts- We have moved our unit one test on sentences to Monday.  On Tuesday we will begin unit five which focuses on punctuation.
Science- We will continue to read chapter five.  Students will finish their lesson on plants and move on to food-webs and ecosystems.
Mastny's Math-  Our "Calendar Math" is due, and our chapter two test will be on Tuesday.  We will then be moving on to chapter three on division.
*Monday students are running the mile in gym.
*Friday taffy apple orders are due.

Have a great weekend!

Interviewing a Scientist

Dr. Arata

This week we were able to interview Dr. Arata who is a scientist at the University of Chicago.  She recently received her doctorate there and is continuing her diabetes research for her post doctoral program.  As a class we were able to do a video chat with her over the internet, and ask her about what a scientist does and what tools she uses in her lab.  Afterwards the students compared her lab's tools to the tools we have in our fifth grade tool kits.  We also had a great discussion about what scientists look like and how anyone can become a scientist.

Our favorite tools were:

The Pipettors

The Stir Plate 

A Look at Next Week:
Spelling- We are moving onto lesson four, with a test still on Friday.
Social Studies- We will finish chapter four and have a test on Thursday.
Reading-  We will write and publish our tall tale.
Language Arts- We will take a unit one (Sentences) test on Friday.
Science- We will finish chapter five, lesson one on plants.
Mastny's Math-  We will finish chapter two on Multiplication.  We will have a test the first week of October.
*Thursday is Picture Day
*Friday is an Early Dismissal Day

A Peek at Next Week

We are working on finishing up our first units next week.  In Reading we will finish our Tall Tale unit and we will actually be writing a tall tale.  In Language Arts we will finish unit one in our grammar books on sentences.  There will be a test on it in the following week.  We will be finishing the scientific method in Science and will begin Chapter 5:  Energy and Ecosystems.  Students will be making Aztec masks in Social Studies.  We will be finishing chapter four and will begin reviewing for our test that we will take the following week.

My Math class will begin chapter two on multiplication.  We plan on getting through lessons 2.1-2.3, and then taking a quiz on those lessons on Friday.

Important Days:
Tuesday- Magazine Turn-in Day
Friday- Mastny's Math Quiz 2.1-2.3, Spelling Test

A Peek at Next Week

Starting Monday we will continue to study chapter four in our Social Studies book on European explorers.  We will begin the lessons about the conquest of the Aztec civilization.  In Science there will be an open note assessment about science tools on Tuesday and then we will be discussing the scientific method.  In Reading we will continue to read tall tales and in Language Arts we are still working on our sentence unit.

 My Math class next week will continue to learn about place value and estimation in chapter one.  Students will take a quiz on Tuesday that covers lessons 1.1-1.4.  Then there will be a chapter one test on Friday.

Important Days:
Sunday- Noon Bears Game
Tuesday- Mastny's Math Quiz 1.1-1.4, Magazine Kick-Off Day
Friday- Mastny's Math Chapter 1 Test, Spelling Test

Welcome Back!

Welcome to a new school year.  Everyone is finally settled in.  This week we are beginning all of our first units.  In Science we are going over our tool kits and the scientific method.  In Social Studies we are beginning chapter four on Spanish explorers.  We have begun switching for Math and going over place value.  Tall tales is our first unit in Reading and in Language Arts we are working on journaling ideas.

Important Days:
Monday- No School, Labor Day
Tuesday- Math MAPS Testing
Wednesday- Curriculum Night
Friday- Reading MAPS Testing

A Peek at Next Week

Next week we are learning about telling a story from different perspectives.  We will be reading different versions of Cinderella and The Three Little Pigs.  After comparing the different stories to the original fairy tale, students will compose their own fairy tale from a different perspective.

Important Days:
Monday- No School, Memorial Day
Thursday- 8th Grade Boat Trip, PBIS Assembly, 6th Grade Lip-Zinc

A Peek at Next Week

Next week we will be starting Unit 23, "Power Up!"  We will be reading stories about different kinds of power, some have to do with science, while others deal with world leaders.  In Language Arts students will finish their short stories, and will be working on writing paragraphs with sensory details.

Important Dates:
Tuesday- 5th Grade Visits Lakeview
Friday- 7th Grade Career Fair

The Lakeview Musical

This years musical is the comedy, Once Upon a Mattress Jr.  It is a rendition of the "Princess and the Pea."  The play is about the impending marriage of Prince Dauntless the Drab.  The prince is in search of the perfect princess to marry and is supported by his mute father, King Sextimus the Silent.  However Prince Dauntless is constantly thwarted by his mother, Queen Aggravain.  The Queen keeps giving impossible tasks the princesses must pass before they can marry her precious son. Prince Dauntless is not sure he will ever marry, until the arrival of Princess Winnifred the Woebegone.  Come see the musical at Lakeview on Thursday (17th) or Friday (18th) at 7:00pm, and see how this strange plot unfolds.

A Peek at Next Week

Next week we will be starting Unit 22 in the Language! series.  All of the readings will be focused on solving different types of puzzles.  In Language Arts the focus will be on prepositional phrases and using these phrases in our writing. 

Important Days:
Monday- DGS Librarians Visit 8th Graders
Tuesday- Track Conference Meet
Wednesday- Sports Pictures
Friday- Music in the Parks Festival

Earth Day

Last week we got together with our pen-pals and did an Earth Day activity.  We learned how to make recycled  paper.  First students tore paper into small pieces, and then we let it soak in water.  Next we blended the paper with the water, and then we poured the paper pulp back into the tub of water.  Finally we collected the paper pulp onto a screen and then let it dry.  It was fun to see the end result and to socialize with our pen-pals along the way. 

A Peek at Next Week

We will continue our new unit next week in our Language! series, Unit 21 "Join the Family." We are focusing on root words, affixes, and quotation marks. Students will also be reading about Anne Frank, and other types of families.

Important Days:

Saturday- ISU Band Festival

Monday- Track Meet at DGS, Volleyball Game, and Girls' Soccer

Wednesday- Early Dismissal

Thursday- Boys' Soccer Game

A Peek at Next Week

Next week we will be finishing Unit 20 in our Language! series. We will review homophones, root words, and predicate nouns and adjectives. Students will also be writing a character trait essay that relates to the last story we read, "A Game of Catch."

Important Dates:

Today- Midterms, and the Spring Dance

Saturday- Snowflake

Tuesday- 6th Grade OLSATs,

Wednesday- Newspaper Club

A Peek at Next Week

Next week we will continue Unit 20 in the green books. We will review suffixes, and learn two new prefixes. Students will be mapping out the plot of short stories, and writing up character traits.

Important Days:
Tomorrow- No School!
Saturday- Market Day
Friday-Midterms, and the Spring Dance

History Fair

The seventh grade students will be participating in our first annual History Fair. Students choose a Chicago themed topic to research and analyze. They then created a display of their work and will present them at the fair. All students have been working on this for months, and were excited to turn in their projects today. The actual fair will take place on Thursday, March 22nd, right after school. I look forward to viewing their exhibits!

A Peek at Next Week

Next week we will continue with Unit 19 in the green books. Students will be pulling our parts of a short story and work on outlining an essay.

Important Dates:
Thursday- Parent/Teacher Conferences from 5-8pm
Friday- No School
Monday- 7th Graders take Science tests during ISAT testing
Thursday- Scholastic Bowl Tournament

ISAT Testing

ISAT testing is going to be taking place next week. The sixth and eighth graders will be testing with their first periods, and the seventh graders will be testing with their fourth period classes. Students will be testing everyday for the first three periods of the day, with a scheduled break in the gym. On Tuesday they will take the first two reading tests, on Wednesday they will have the last reading test and the first math test, and on Thursday they will finish the last two math sections. Then the seventh graders will continue testing on the following Monday with the two science tests. Please remember to encourage students to eat a healthy breakfast and to get enough sleep!

On to the Green Books!

We are half way done with our Language! series this year. Students are very excited to trade in their orange books for a new green one. Next week we will be starting Unit 19 in the green books, and the theme is "Go with Speed." We will be reading about speed sports in the Olympics, fiber optic highways, and fast-food. We look forward to our new adventures!

Important Days:
Tuesday- Early Dismissal, School Improvement Day
Friday- End of Second Trimester and PBIS Assembly

Pack the Place

Pack the Place was on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The leadership team set up activities for the pre-game show and sold raffles for pieing the teachers. On Monday Ms. Schwenkel, Ms. Cerney, Mrs. Mixon, and Mr. Windsor were pied, and the girls' basketball team won their game that night. Then on Tuesday Ms. Enzbigilis, Mr. Little, Dr. Tiede, and I were pied in the face before the boys' basketball game. It was a special game because it was Mr. Dodd's last Pack the Place. After 38 years of teaching at Center Cass School District, Mr. Dodd will be retiring. His family, friends, and past students attended the game, and he was given a framed jersey at half-time. Overall it was a terrific event!

Spirit Week

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Spirit Week which leads up to our big Pack-the-Place events.

Spirit Week:
Wednesday- Ugly shirt or sweater day
Thursday- Pajama day
Friday- Twin day
Monday- Gold/Super-fan day for the girls' basketball team
Tuesday- Green/Super-fan day for the boys' basketball team

A Peek at Next Week

We are starting our final unit in the orange Language! books. The students are very excited. We will be reading about the continents and geography during the final unit, unit 18.

Important Days:
Sunday- Super Bowl
Wednesday- Book Reports Due
Friday- 9 Week Progress Reports

Book Report

Story Board Rubric 2012

A Peek at Next Week

Next week we will finish up our unit on athletes. Students will be working on expository writing and will begin a short story unit.

Important Days:
Monday- No School, Martin Luther King Day
Wednesday- Newspaper Club
Thursday- Spelling Bee
Friday- Progress Reports

Athletes

In Reading this week we started our unit on athletes and extreme sports. All of our reading will include stories and articles with this topic. While reading these stories we have been working on building our vocabulary, and reading with intonation.

In Language Arts we are reviewing prepositional phrases, and we will be working on letter writing. Next week students will be learning to distinguish between formal and in-formal writing. They will write an in-formal letter to a friend, and then a formal letter to a teacher, both letters explaining the same topic.